Fox hunting group fails to overturn Scottish ban

Scotland's ban on fox hunting takes effect today after the court of session in Edinburgh rejected a claim by members of the Scottish Countryside Alliance that their human rights had been breached by legislation drawn up earlier this year by the Scottish parliament.

After the court dismissed their petition, the alliance's director, Allan Murray, said that hunt members would obey the new law while making an appeal to a higher court.

"We are determined to fight it all the way," he said. "This legislation will shatter livelihoods and businesses in rural Scotland, yet the court appears to have merely rubber-stamped the act passed by the Scottish parliament."

In his written judgment issued yesterday Lord Nimmo Smith said that there was no proof that the legislation interfered with the petitioners' private lives or that it discriminated against them.

The legislation comes into force today, although most of the 10 Scottish hunts start their season in September.

One petitioner, Trevor Adams, 43, master of hounds with the Buccleuch hunt in the Borders, said: "I wanted my son to have the right to hunt if he wanted," he said. "This whole matter is about freedom of choice."